Top Researchers Flee USA for Netherlands via New Tulp Fonds
Top researchers leave USA for the Netherlands (in Dutch)
The new Tulp Fonds is successfully attracting 34 top international researchers, with 29 coming from the USA, to work in the Netherlands. This initiative, backed by 50 million euros, addresses global pressures on academic freedom while boosting Dutch innovation in critical fields like AI, quantum computing, and health. By welcoming talent from institutions like Harvard and Stanford, the Netherlands strengthens its scientific independence and future resilience.
Every additional top researcher means access to new knowledge, networks, and new perspectives for current researchers in our country.
- amoshebb
I could only find 4 names:
1 full prof at Vanderbilt with a real research program who has been listed as PI on a bunch of grants. "Top researcher" may be generous, but based on nothing I'd say reasonable description.
The other 3: 1 is a VU Amsterdam PhD who was on a Netherlands Government funded 24-month postdoc in Harvard who's been at VU Amsterdam since 2017. 1 is an adjunct (on leave) prof from Israel who has worked at a few german universities, most recently an Munster (doesn't qualify for the 30% rule). The last resigned over a year ago and has been contracting at a couple UK universities.
This seems less like "Top researchers leave USA" and more like "Typical Academic Bag Chasing"
- jesdo
Great initiative, and good to see that it has an effect. I'm a bit sceptical about the available funds. 1 million over 5 years is a nice starting package (4+ PhD students), but the availability of overall research grant money in the Netherlands has been under pressure for years and is difficult to acquire. Researchers moving here may find it difficult to acquire further grant money compared to US, at least in CS.
- andsoitis
That's not a truthful translation of the article's headline, BTW.
More correct would be "First international scientists to the Netherlands via the Tulip Fund", which is a far cry from the title as submitted.
- cdash
This title is such clickbait. All the article talks about is a Dutch fund created to recruit scientists and they have successfully recruited them. At 1 million euros per head.
- goldenarm
The US is accidentally conducting Operation Paperclip but in reverse. Who will benefit the most from it, China or Europe ?
- mnky9800n
I apologise if this is overly negative. It is based on my experience working as a soft money researcher (my own grants) at a Dutch university. My opinions may not be shared.
In my experience The Netherlands is a rather unsupportive place to do research. There is essentially no money from the government that will pay salaries in full, especially early career salaries (vini, vidi, vici). I have had friends win ERC grants (millions in euros) that were fired as a result because there was not a space in the department to hire them full time (Dutch work law requires contracts to become permanent after a certain number of years of working). Departments also seem to have glass ceilings for non Dutch. Researchers are often given large teaching commitments that cannot be bought out with grants. University incubators seem to be better suited to let professors pretend to be start up founders then actual innovation centers. I have tried on multiple occasions to engage the local incubator and have always been run around. Yet local Dutch have no issues. The rules seem to be different for Dutch than for foreigners. A foreign colleague was offered a lucrative consulting contract (a normal thing for successful professors at other universities). The Dutch university he was at refused to let him take it except under the understanding the money would be entirely consumed by the university and he would receive no compensation for bringing in private money even though he would be doing all of the w […]
- luma
This reads more like The Netherlands hopes to bribe US researchers into moving to the Netherlands.
- dwa3592
Actually there are many such headlines, just replace the Netherlands with [China, Singapore, Australia, India].